Study of Two Figures 1837 - 1911

Alphonse Legros made this pencil drawing, Study of Two Figures, sometime during his career. Legros’s artistic vision was shaped by the social and political upheavals of 19th-century France. Here, we see two nude male figures, standing in what seems to be a classical, almost academic pose. The bodies are rendered with careful attention to musculature and form, yet the figures lack individualizing features; their faces are turned away, and their expressions are obscured. In art history, this pose has often been used to depict strength, heroism, and the ideal human form. Yet, there is also a sense of vulnerability and anonymity in these figures. Legros came from a working-class background, and perhaps he imbued these figures with a sense of the struggles and realities of everyday life that goes beyond mere idealized form. In its ambiguity, the drawing invites us to contemplate the complexities of human identity, desire, and experience.